Offbeat | James Earl Jones happy to receive Voice Icon Award

Darth Vader, Mufasa, and even the tagline for a certain 24-hour news network helped made James Earl Jones one of the most recognizable voices on the planet and soon the recipient of the first Voice Icon Award.
But according to the actor, there was a period when he didn’t do much speaking. As a child he suffered from a severe stutter, and went through a period where he refused to speak at all.
“I once did not speak. I was mute. When I finally did speak, though, I spoke as an adult,” Jones said of the transformation.
Once speaking, Jones attributes his teacher for providing valuable advice that would carry him throughout his long career.
“I was 16 or 17, and my teacher said, ‘You remember yourself speaking as a child, you’re now hearing yourself as an adult, don’t get impressed with it. Don’t listen to it, because you can fall in love with the melodious of it. If you listen to it, then nobody else will,’” he said.
That advice paid off as the Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated actor will be the initial recipient of the Voice Icon Award from the first-ever Voice Arts Awards on Sunday.